3/18/2016
Field trip! ­ Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin
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Field trip!
Get involved with Wisconsin on a deeper level with the Natural Resources
Foundation
by MIKE IVEY
MARCH 17, 2016
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Ever had a hankering to band eaglet nestlings in the Turtle Flambeau Flowage? How
about hiking in steep terrain to view rare ferns growing in the Kickapoo Valley? Or
paddling kayaks deep in the Crex Meadows pine barrens, where few ever venture?
Now, for the first time in its 30-year history, the Natural Resources Foundation of
Wisconsin is widely publicizing its more than 220 guided field trips (listed at
wisconservation.org) around Wisconsin as it seeks to build a new generation of
outdoor enthusiasts and citizen scientists.
Online registration opens on March 23, and organizers caution that nearly 80% of the
trips filled immediately last year. The trips are available only to members of the private
nonprofit group, but anyone can join for as little as $25, or $15 for students.
“Some of these places you can certainly go on your own, but it makes so much
difference when you can go along with an expert or someone from the DNR,” says
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3/18/2016
Field trip! ­ Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin
difference when you can go along with an expert or someone from the DNR,” says
Ruth Oppedahl, executive director of the Madison-based organization.
ISTHMUS ON TAP What's happening this weekend
The low-cost trips — most start at $15 per person — run the gamut from half-day
wildlife viewing excursions with a birding guide to overnight camping trips. Most are
on Wisconsin public lands or protected natural areas, with three dozen focused
specifically on endangered species.
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Some trips explore well-known locations like Devil’s Lake or Door County, while
others venture into areas not normally open to the general public. You can do a wonky
visit inside a Waste Management recycling plant in Milwaukee, get dirty pulling
invasive garlic mustard from a Waupaca County wetland or explore twisty little
Badfish Creek in Rock County by canoe.
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“So many of these are ‘off the radar’ places that are real Wisconsin treasures,” says past
attendee Leon Lawrenz of Lodi. “But to have someone knowledgeable impart their
wisdom and love for a place is truly a privilege.”
Trips are scheduled in 46 of the state’s 72 counties, with over 60 in Dane or an
adjacent county. In addition, 66 of the outings are billed as “family friendly,” with
costs for kids as low as $5.
“I sure want my kids to know what it’s like growing up in a state that really cares
about its natural resources,” says Christine Tanzer, field trip coordinator for the NRF.
“And maybe we can create some new conservation voters in the process.”
KELLY NECHUTA
A paddling trip to Lac Courte Oreilles traces a historic waterway used by Native Americans.
Environmental initiatives in Wisconsin have been taking a pounding, from funding
cuts at state parks to eliminating science positions at the Department of Natural
Resources. Outdoor programs have found few friends in the Walker administration or
GOP-dominated Legislature. To many, the shift in priorities has proven shocking in a
state that counts Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Gaylord Nelson as favorite sons.
The NRF took its own hit, absorbing a $84,000 funding cut when the governor’s last
budget eliminated a series of so-called capacity grants that had gone to a dozen
different statewide environmental groups.
Looking to call attention to those cuts, Oppedahl last fall paddled her kayak the entire
length of the Wisconsin River from its beginnings at the border with Upper Michigan
to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Wyalusing State Park.
Oppedahl says that solo river trip, where she camped overnight with friends and
foundation members, helped her realize how much people in the state care about the
outdoors. “Honestly, I was inspired by all the outpouring of support, phone calls,
donations, ideas for sustainable funding, even chocolate sent to the office,” she says.
Given the current political realities, the NRF field trips
have taken on added importance as the state faces
cutbacks in DNR professional staff.
To that end, the NRF is coordinating with the UW
Extension, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences and
Environmental Resources Center on the “Wisconsin
Master Naturalist Program,” which trains citizens to serve
as guides or species monitors. Volunteers receive a
TIM EISELE
certification that lets them lead trips or work as guides in Trip leader Abbie Church
addition to receiving a free one-year membership to the
finds a blue racer snake at
Cassville Bluffs.
NRF.
The NRF was formed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1986 when declining budgets
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Field trip! ­ Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin
The NRF was formed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1986 when declining budgets
were severely compromising critical DNR programs. Today, the private nonprofit
foundation raises money and offers grants for public land management, research and
monitoring of rare species, in addition to its field trip program.
Over its nearly 30 years, the group has contributed $5.4 million to public and private
conservation efforts. It also manages the Wisconsin Conservation Endowment, which
holds $4.12 million in assets in 68 different funds that permanently support specific
environmental programs. Those monies have helped fund recovery of trumpeter
swans, whooping cranes, wolves, American martens and other species.
The field trips themselves were launched in 1993 by NRF program coordinator Barb
Barzen. Since then, more than 2,100 trips have been held, with some 40,000
participants.
NATURE RECREATION
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